You Are Invited....

....to attend a little party hosted

by my dear friend,

Miss Mermaid.

I hope that you will come along with me.

We'll knock gently.

Don't you love that door knocker?

Miss M. has a lovely collection

of 18th century caps

and brooches.

While we are here you may choose

to wear one if you wish. 

Before the other guests arrive,

I want you to see how Miss M.

hangs her fairy lights from the ceiling,

and how gorgeous her collection

of hand blown glass is.

Oh, I think I see the flash

of  tail,

and hear the gentle swish of fin.

Do meet her other guests.

Don't be shy. They are truly gentle

and engaging souls.

If one should whisper

a gentle bubble in your ear,

or brush you in passing,

count it as a blessing.

Miss Mermaid's delectable salad is on the table.

Do help yourself.

It is delicious.

I know it has been a long trip,

and it is getting late,

but I hope that you stayed 

and enjoyed it.

All photos were taken several years ago at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Best to you, ellen.

Run With Your Scissors Part Two...

Quite a while ago I created some "Half Hearted Art".

I cut up an old, but small calendar

from the National Gallery of Art.

I dissected some of my favorite artists, may they forgive me.

I limited myself to only using half of a heart shape. 

The hearts could be perfect or curvy and twisted. 

For some odd reason, they just had to be

half hearted.

So, I ran with my scissors, glue,
and a full hearted sense of fun.

And it was fun, lots of it.

....and then this weekend

when I had some alone time,

oh, blessed alone time,

I attempted to Run Again.

I ran and ran without restrictions.

Do you know that it was so much harder?

It was.

Here is what came out of my freedom.

A beetle. I am not too fond of him.

He is a bit off center, and he was very difficult

to pin down. Pinned he is, and loved he is not.

Now, here is the the Chicken

and the Egg

from Art Hell. 

She is more of a "Where Is Waldo?"

Can you see her? If so, you win the prize.

Grant wood is in there.

Goya, et all.

She and the egg evolved

from a photo I took of one of my hens.

I had to put a few dots here and there

just to see her.

But, she is still

Where Is Waldo?

Now, here is my favorite one.

The one who makes me jump for joy.
And for some reason, I cannot make him any bigger.
He keeps hopping down the "page".
I think that he is just shy
and a wee bit embarrassed
because he knows that I am proud of him.
He knows, I am sure,
that good things come in small packages.
He is the little Peeper
that we can hear singing at night.
He is the harbinger,
the messenger in the mud, 
the post card
from Spring,
the one that sings hope.
Life and warmth is on the way.
Sleep well and easy.
 I will sing you
a lullaby.

Best to all, have a lovely week, e.

Mother Nature...

....has been practicing her moves today. She is more adept than any teen.
She has moves and tricks
and has honed her skills to perfection.
The sun is her yoyo, and mercifully for the last
45 minutes she has been Walking the Dog.
Walking the Dog is my favorite move she makes.
The sun blesses us with his brightness and warmth.
Turn your back, however, and she will
execute The Breakaway.
Blink an eye,
it's the Four Leaf Clover and the shadows
disappear, rain pounds the already saturated earth.
Watch the Gravity Pull and get both sun
and rain at the same time.
I can't wait until she gets bored
and does the Sleeper all summer long.
Spring in Western Oregon
overflows with her capricious nature.
Wishing all a calm and beautiful weekend.
Best to all, ellen.

It's Spring Break Here....

...and Spring is here.

She is here with color and rain

and wind.

She is here with wet and cold.

The woodstove chugs on and on.

The grayness, fog, and did I mention rain,

soaks us all up and lands us

in a puddle of coldness.

But, it is Spring and there is

COLOR.

And there has been wind,

wind to scare me to death!

Where to stand in the house.

Where to hide, lest a tree

fall on me.

Whew!

Wishing all a beautiful spring.

There will be lots of people here this week.

Enjoy the beauty that is unfolding.

Best to all, e.

Today I Feel Like This....

...all prickly, grumpy, peevish, and sad. 
As well as everyone else, feeling helpless.

I know exactly why.

I am thinking that I am

not good enough.

I don't do "stuff" well.

I don't accomplish much of anything.

So, I am sending myself

some flowers and attempting 

to be kind to myself.

I am thinking about these lovely blossoms.

If you are feeling the same,

these are for you too.

And here is one more

that symbolizes hope.

Truly, I did not arrange this one.

As I have been waiting

for my photos to upload,

I looked out the window.

Too far away to take a picture,

but I can see two happy woodpeckers,

huge woodpeckers together

on the same fir tree.

I find myself smiling and

laughing and being happy.

I think there is a message here.

Best to all, ellen.

                p.s. I did not mean to say that you were feeling cranky, just perhaps helpless.                 

                                          

There Is A Big Hole...

....in our world.

It is so devastating and so

unfathomable.

We weep for those

who are suffering

and wonder what we can do.

It is an impossible question

to answer.

We all do the best we can.

We can donate to trusted

places.

We can call a loved one.

We can take care of things at home.

Aren't we blessed to have a home?

We can reach out to people

beyond our family

and say, 

"You matter, you fill a space

in my life."

"You are important to me."
And we can reach out
because we have working phones,
the Internet, or letters that we know will be delivered.
We have familiar paths, loved paths to walk.
They are still here, known and worn.

We can be thankful 

for so many things...

things we take for granted.

A house, a home

and knowing where our loved ones are.
They may not be here right now, 
but we are assured that they
are in a safe place.

We have food, clean water,

books to read,

warmth and hope.

We can go to bed at night...

(we have a bed to go to)

We have that bed with sheets

and warming blankets.

We have someone to say goodnight to.

We have doors to lock

or windows to open

in order to hear the tender sounds of the night.

If we have pets

they will be there to greet us in the morning,

and that morning will come, 

it will be like all other mornings.

It will be a normal morning.

Let us all give thanks

for a normal, simple morning.

A morning with all of its ordinariness.

May we all appreciate the 

big and the very small.

May we give thanks

and reach out however we are able.

Best to all, ellen.

Sunday Stroll...

You come too. We'll walk down the drive

and cross the bridge.

While we are on the bridge we can see the muddy water that is Elk Creek. Don't lean over too far. It's a long ways down and that water is cold and swift.

I want you to see another of my very favorite trees. Words cannot describe it. I think that it is a Sequoia and it is so large that I absolutely cannot capture it in its fullness, so we will stand underneath it and admire only a tiny part of it.

We head back across the bridge and can see the Not So Inviting Sign. It does have a genuine purpose as we have suffered some fools who have driven too fast and hurled themselves through the bridge railings. Not a pretty sight, but they were all safe, thankfully.

Let's stop in at the old hog barn. I think there is something quite magical that rises and floats according to the wind's sweet breath.

See how it moves.

Here we go into the woods to see some mossy richness,

and again, my favorite Forrest Fairy tree.

Hang in there (if you are still here). We are homeward bound.

One little creek to pass over, no warning signs, just gentle burbling.

Here we are greeted with color although the hope of Spring is still a prayer.

And finally, the ones who can make you laugh,

who provide food and who are equally as colorful no matter what the season. Thank you for being here. It means so much.

I wish you the joys of the season, no matter where you are.

I thank you if you have lasted this long. Truly, Sunday Strolls are my favorite. Your continued support brings me joy and I hope that you have enjoyed it. 

Best to all, ellen.

Craving Color....

It's ridiculous to even wish/think that these will be good.

It is way too soon to hope for flavor, even if they are from California.

I couldn't resist, so here  they are as I attempt to photograph them with a 110lb dog leaning on my leg.

Eating color is good even if it's not at it's best.

Call it visual therapy.
Now, this was tasty and good for you. Home made veggie stock;
wintered over leeks, onions, carrots. Add some garlic, kombu, bay leaves, red  pepper flakes and celery, simmer for the time it takes to knit half a sleeve, strain the next day, give the chickens the over cooked veggies and throw it all into the pressure cooker with one and a half bags of black beans.

Simmer again the next morning with cumin, a little chipotle chili powder (finish the other half of the sleeve, start on the next one) and finally, slurp up with whole wheat olive bread with egg salad from home grown eggs. 
Finish off with Save the Ta Ta Cookies
which were named after a breast cancer awareness
shirt my daughter-in-law gave me. Honestly, these are just sugar cookies with a large chocolate drop in the middle.
The first time I made them and took them out of the oven, I burst into laughter and screamed, "Ta Tas"! They have ever since been called that and beloved by all.

Best to all, ellen.

Tiny Text Tuesday....

Last week       STOP

Hooray March   STOP

Warm today

Let the woodstove go out  STOP

Can see daffodil green

No yellow yet  

She is coming  STOP

Hang in  STOP

Wishing all well  STOP

   

Happy March

Best to all, ellen (she stops)